Last year, I linked to a story in the New Yorker about a scientist who was trying to catch giant squid. Today it’s being reported (via Slashdot) that Japanese scientists have captured images of an Architeuthis in its natural habitat.
On June 28th, I wrote the following about Google Video:
However, I have to say that once again Google has disappointed by creating a Windows-only product. This is especially confusing considering that the Google Video Viewer is based on VLC, which runs on just about every operating system on the planet.
Today, my coworker Rudy pointed out that you no longer need to download the viewer to watch the videos. I have to say that I’m impressed by the changes.
The Guardian has posted a very thorough profile (via Slashfood) of Jamie Oliver, whose new book, Jamie’s Italy, will be published in the UK next week. (I wonder why it’s not being published in the USA.) I know that a lot of “serious” cooks don’t think too highly of him. But he’s the person who inspired me to learn how to really cook instead of just following the recipe.
Michael Brown has found a new job. After “doing a heck of a job” as head of FEMA, it was obvious that employers would be scrambling to hire him.
The Opera web browser is now free (via Slashdot). If they had done this a couple years ago, I might be using it as my full-time browser today.
Firefox seems increasingly buggy lately, so there’s still an outside chance that I might end up switching to Opera. The latest version of Camino is pretty tempting, too.
According to Engadget, Apple will begin shipping Intel-based (via TUAW) Macs in June of next year. I’m hoping that their notebooks will be among the first to be switched. My PowerBook is starting to feel a little slow.
Google is holding a conference called Zeitgeist ‘05 from October 25th through the 27th. 400 people have been invited to attend. Even though several of the attendees are bloggers or journalists, Google has forbidden them from writing (via Scripting News) about the conference.
Trying to keep what’s said at the conference from showing up in print will be akin to herding cats. Bloggers and journalists have lots of friends who are also bloggers and journalists. Eventually, someone is going to let something slip. And once it finds its way to Technorati, you can forget about containing it.
Between actions like this, their unwillingness to participate in the developer community, their lack of cross-platform apps (such as Talk and Video Viewer), and poorly-executed apps, I’m thinking that Google is turning into another Microsoft. So today I deleted my Google keymark. It’s going to take a while to get used to typing “y” to search in Firefox.
Those of you familiar with the Jimi post know that I was considering purchasing a taxi wallet. I ended up ordering a Royce Leather City Wallet. It arrived yesterday.
After I filled it will everything from my old wallet, I realized that it’s not really that much smaller. However, the size difference is enough that it fits in the front pocket much better than a standard wallet.
President Bush’s job approval has dipped below 40 percent for the first time in the AP-Ipsos poll, reflecting widespread doubts about his handling of gasoline prices and the response to Hurricane Katrina.
39% of Americans still approve of the President? That blows my mind.
Did you notice that Steve Jobs’ iTunes presentation had an unusually aggressive tone? Nivi says that the real message wasn’t iTunes 5, the iTunes phone, or even the iPod nano. In retrospect, it’s totally obvious.
Also, thanks to Nivi for adding a new word to my vocabulary.
